A scary feature that fortunately didn’t become standard automotive equipment.

This was allegedly promoted in the USA in the dangerously carefree days of early motoring, according to Drunken History, a book originating from the American TV series Drunk History and now available from Amazon.

We hope it’s a hoax. At Shippies we take the responsible service of alcohol very seriously — have a good time with us but leave the car at home or use Hobart’s excellent taxi services if you think you might be over the limit.

Hobart shivers

Meanwhile at Shippies:

Shippies dates back to 1846 and we don’t have many images of its early life. This one was taken about 1900, when the pub had an earthen floor strewn with sawdust and Battery Point was a boisterous, brawling village where the cops only went mob-handed.

The clientele was mainly fishermen and workers from the shipyards down the hill, now mostly gone. There were pubs on most corners in those days and today’s Shippies is a lusty survivor from more robust times.